Imphal, July 30: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu today assured Manipur that the ongoing Jiribam-Imphal railway project would be extended up to Moreh, Manipur's border township.

Prabhu today laid the foundation stone of Imphal railway station at Yurembam, 13km southwest of Imphal city, in the presence of chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and minister of state for railways Rajen Gohain.

Prabhu also launched the construction work of tunnel 12, the longest railway tunnel in India having a length of 11.55km, along the Jiribam-Imphal railway line.

The 111km Imphal-Jiribam railway line was launched in 2004. It has 45 tunnels, measuring 43km. So far, construction of 12.5km railway line from Jiribam to Dolakhal has been completed and freight services up to Dolakhal commissioned in March this year.

The completion target of the railway line is December 2019. It also has the world's tallest rail bridge over the Irang in Tamenglong district, 141m at pier height.

"I will take up the proposal for extension of the railway line from Imphal to Moreh with the finance ministry for clearance. It will require Rs 9,000 crore," Prabhu said.

Earlier, Ibobi Singh urged the railway minister to take up the proposal for Imphal-Moreh railway line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Without railway connectivity of Moreh with Imphal, the Prime Minister's dream project of Act East will not be successful," Ibobi Singh said at today's programme.

Moreh, which shares border with Myanmar, is India's gateway to Southeast Asia.

Stating that barring Sikkim the Northeast has been connected by rail, Prabhu said the rail budget for the region had been considerably increased in the past two years.

He stressed the need for the Centre and state governments in the region to work as a team to develop the region on a par with other states.

The minister also assured the Manipur government that the security concern for the railway line construction would be addressed.

Gohain said he was personally monitoring the railway project to ensure that it is completed before the scheduled time.

The Rs 8.7-crore Imphal railway station building is being designed on the lines of Kangla fort and Shree Shree Govindajee temple.

The event took place despite the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System, a public conglomerate, imposing a 24 hour public curfew in the state since midnight.

The public curfew was imposed to protest prevention of a scheduled public meeting on inner-line permit by police in Imphal yesterday. It affected life in parts of the state.